While the Georgia side of the CSRA wraps up its regular season tonight, the South Carolina side starts its second season — the one that includes the road to a state championship.
Some of the Augusta-area teams from Georgia have one more game to enhance their standing for the Georgia High School Association state playoffs that begins next Friday. Other teams are simply saying goodbye to seniors and looking for some momentum to take into the offseason.
Meanwhile, the South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) playoffs begin tonight with a plethora of intriguing matchups.
Here are the five games we’re watching and predicting on this first Friday of November.
Greenwood (5-5) at North Augusta (7-3): We’re watching this one for a couple of reasons: One, because Greenwood is a solid first round matchup. Two, because we want to see how North Augusta bounces back after losing its region championship matchup with Midland Valley in the most excruciatingly heartbreaking way. The Eagles have been a mixed bag of production this season with a collection of solid wins and close losses against good teams — such as a 49-40 loss to this same North Augusta squad on Sept. 8. That alone makes this one of the more intriguing first round matchups in South Carolina. The Eagles have already shown they can compete with the Yellow Jackets. There’s also a bit of revenge factor in this one as well. But aside from the Midland Valley game, North Augusta has been playing as well as anyone in the area down the stretch. The playoff atmosphere should be thick with this one. Prediction: North Augusta 38, Greenwood 31.
Easley (4-6) at Midland Valley (10-0): Midland Valley Coach Earl Chaptman said he didn’t believe it would be hard to bring his undefeated Mustangs back down to earth after one of the biggest and most dramatic wins in program history last Friday. It also helps that Easley won’t be a pushover opponent. Don’t let the record fool you. The Green Wave have ample playmakers on both sides of the ball and have shown a penchant for being a high scoring bunch at times with three 63-point offensive performances to their credit. It helps that Midland Valley will be back at home for this one. A juiced up crowd ready to cheer on arguably the most talented Mustangs bunch in school history toward a potential state title should help keep Valley focused. Prediction: Midland Valley 45, Easley 21.
Evans (3-6, 2-3) at South Effingham (6-3, 2-3): After the fast 2-0 start to Region 2-AAAAAA play, the Knights fell onto hard times with three straight losses, including last week’s 35-7 setback at Brunswick. Because of that, Evans’ playoff hopes will come down to tonight’s battle with the Mustangs from Guyton. Evans will have to rely on its defense to stop a South Effingham run game that’s averaging over 230 yards per contest and features four ball carriers who have rushed for more than 200 yards and two touchdowns for the season. For Evans, Rayshaun King’s 917 rushing yards and five touchdowns has been the bright spot for an otherwise struggling offense that’s managed to score 15 points only twice this season — none of those times in the last four games. The defense and a desire to not let this be their last game of the season may allow the Knights to keep things close for a while before South Effingham wears them down late. Prediction: South Effingham 35, Evans 13.
Thomson (8-0, 6-0) at Westside (4–5, 3-3): On one hand, you could call this the makings of a potential trap game for Thomson. The defending Class AA champions will show up to a capable Westside bunch that’s been close in just about every game its played. Junior running back Jeanarion Kamga and his 1,410 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns helps keep the Patriots in every game they’ve played. Westside’s defense has been fairly stout as well. But on the other hand, when you look at how Thomson has steamrolled everyone in its way after the season opening Burke County loss, it’s hard to say that the Bulldogs will allow anything to thwart their focus on the last week of the regular season. The fact that Thomson’s first round playoff game opponent has already been settled (Worth County) should help Thomson focus on simply finishing the regular season well. Also, since a 28-14 win against Laney back on Sept. 15, Thomson has averaged a whopping 58.6 points per game. Prediction: Thomson 45 Westside 13.
Morgan County (8-1, 4-0) at Harlem (7-2, 4-0): The Region 4-AAA championship comes down to this clash between the region’s top two squads that’s been an entire regular season in the making. The big knock on Morgan County may be strength of schedule, despite its near-perfect regular season. The Bulldogs from Madison have a 24-14 setback at Greene County as their only loss of the season. But that was, by far, the best team on the schedule. Meanwhile, Harlem has been battle tested with games against Class A title contender Aquinas and South Carolina Region 4-AAAA champion Midland Valley. Both teams have dominated region play, so tonight’s matchup may very well come down to the wire. Prediction: Harlem 31, Morgan County 28.
